No Trouble So Great
by Animegirl1129
Summary: There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea. CainAmbrose. Enjoy!


No Trouble So Great

**_This is for Lionelle over on LJ. She requested Ambrose, a tea kettle, and steam, hope you like! Tin Man is still obviously not mine. Enjoy! _**

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_There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea._ - Bernard-Paul Heroux

In the O.Z., tea was often used as a tool for people to use when talking through arguments.

When Ambrose had been young, and stubborn as an ox, his mother had let sometimes let him allow him a break from the tedious lessons his father pushed on him and the two of them would sit and talk about anything that came to mind, sometimes for hours on end, all over steaming hot cups of tea.

Likewise, Ambrose was almost entirely positive he'd assisted the Queen once avoid a military revolt several years before the Wicked Witch's reign of power, aided by the steamy aroma of freshly brewed royal tea.

Cain had once told him that whenever he and Adora had gotten into some small disagreement, she would prepare tea, as well, and the two of them would sit up late and talk through whatever petty irritation was causing their discrepancy.

So, when Cain left the Palace with a stubborn huff, calling out to Ambrose that he had no intention of returning, the now re-brained genius sought to change his mind. And how better to do that than with the recipe DG had supplied him?

Cain had returned to the small cottage where he - or rather Glitch - had met him. He'd spent a good amount of time getting the place back into working order over the annual since the Witch's defeat. However, not everything had been repaired, so it was not exactly surprising to find the Tin Man at work fixing a wall in the small barn.

At first, upon his entering the wooden structure, he had not been at all sure Cain was aware of his presence. He should have known better though, there was no sneaking up on a Tin Man.

"Ambrose." The cold greeting had been expected, although somewhat disheartening.

"Then you're still mad, I take it." Came the Advisor's sullen reply.

Cain stopped his work and turned to Ambrose. He didn't need to say anything to reflect his answer.

"Apparently so." Reverting to his still somewhat Glitch-like behavior, he plucked at a fraying hem of his sleeve for a moment before he spoke again. "May we talk this over, perhaps over tea?"

"Go ahead inside. I'll be in after I put these away." He gestured to the tools he'd been working with.

Ambrose was rather surprised he'd agreed. Maybe the hardened Tin Man wasn't as mad as he'd seemed.

He'd been to the cottage several times before, when Cain was just beginning his renovations. He was acclimated enough with the layout that he knew where everything required to start tea was located.

By the time Cain entered the house, the kettle of water had come to a boil and Ambrose reached to pour it, but his hand bumped the base of the heated metal and he jumped back with a start. "Ouch!" He exclaimed, as the steam continued to rise from the whistling teapot. "…Little bugger."

Cain, whose concern was clearly evident through his fading mask of anger, removed the kettle from the heat, quickly pouring its contents into mugs before turning to his injured friend. "You okay?"

Ambrose nodded. "It's nothing."

Nonetheless, Cain urged him toward the sink, where he ran soothingly cool water over the scalded skin. Ambrose visibly relaxed with the contact, and the two fell into a comfortable silence for a moment.

"What were we arguing about, anyway?" Cain finally inquired, shutting off the water and carefully drying their hands, once they were both seated at the table, with steaming cups of honey-lemon tea.

Ambrose paused in thought, having entirely forgotten what had caused the Tin Man to take such offense. Nothing cam to mind. "I don't have the slightest idea."

Cain laughed, all signs of anger gone now. "Then I suppose I'll return to the palace with you in the morning."

Ambrose grinned, glad to have accomplished his mission, as he sipped his tea. "Oh! Right! We were arguing about whether tea or coffee was better!"


End file.
